The Break (The Aesir Saga Book 1) (16 page)

              Gabriel looked out the window of the sedan as they drove through the residential area. This was not the type of place he grew up, the houses here were huge mansions, some rising four stories. Garret pulled the car into the circular parking of a large stone house. Gabriel opened the door, walking up the path from the car to the house itself. They were flanked on either side by trees and finely groomed shrubs. The house itself was massive, the front facing gable had a covered entrance that doubled as an awning for the second floor balcony. The third floor leaded window was as big as the double front door, with the gable just above it. On either side of the building, starting at the second floor, were covered balconies rising into gabling of their own. 

              As Gabriel and Brock looked around the immaculate grounds, Garret had already reached the front door, placing his hand on a black metal sheet next to it. The sound of the lock disengaging could be heard as he removed his hand and opened the front door. If the outside was any indication, the inside of the house matched its grandeur. The carpet was red, with gold filigree running down both sides, and a large golden flower done in the same material. Dark furniture lined the wall on either side, some with candelabras, others with flowers. A large crystal chandelier hung in the front of the room, with a smaller version further down the hallway. Two Corinthian pillars stood in the gold filigree, giving the hallway a very regal look.

              As they walked down the hallway, Garret stopped at a room to their left, opening the door. Gabriel and Brock walked in, still overwhelmed with the opulence. Inside were two sitting chairs, with a small end table between them. They faced into the center of the room, and were opposite a large brown leather chair and a love seat. On the left wall of the room was a fireplace, complete with tool set and logs ready to burn. A chandelier hung in the middle of the room, this one being the smallest they had seen so far. Behind the loveseat was a large bay window, the drapes drawn to let the natural light in. In the corner of the room sat a large globe which looked like it came from the early nineteenth century. 

"This is where your friend will wait for you." Garret said, bringing their attention back to why they were there. 

              Brock flopped into the leather chair, his size and bulk making it look small in comparison. Gabriel followed Garret out of the room and back into the hallway. Garret led him past the staircase toward the back of the house. Walking past an open door, Gabriel saw this room was mostly empty. Against the far wall sat a piano and two chairs opposite. Another large chandelier hung in the middle of the room. Paintings covered the blank spaces of the wall, but the majority of the room’s floor was empty. When they reached the back of the house Garret opened a door, but remained in the hallway. 

"Mr. Thoth will be in shortly. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable." Gabriel walked into the room, and Garret shut the door behind him. 

              Was he making the right choice? Garret had just split them up, and he was here to see Ma'at. Could Ma'at be planning to kill them, and now he just made it easier?

As Gabriel looked around the room he realized if they were going to be killed, this was the worst spot to do it. The southern wall of the room was entirely glass. Against the northern wall sat what looked like a book shelf, but instead of books was covered in various alcohols. The furniture of the room also didn't look the most accommodating for murder. In the middle of the room sat two brown leather chairs, facing each other with a small table between them. Two coasters were already set on the table, and from the looks of the dust around them, they were not moved often. Against the far wall a table, complete with white table cloth, fruit, and place settings, ready for a meal that hadn't been planned yet. Gabriel looked out the glass wall, into the garden behind the house. He could see a path that went from the side of the house and made its way into the much brighter flower bushes. A white archway could be seen standing defiantly in the sea of green, but it was losing the battle, as vines had begun to cling to its sides. 

              Gabriel took a seat in the leather chair that faced the door and began to wait. 

And wait. 

              He didn't know what was taking Mr. Thoth so long, but he began to grow impatient. Finally the door opened, and a man Gabriel had not seen before entered the room. Gabriel had no sense of fashion, but he could tell the suit the man wore was expensive. He was happy to see that there was no tie, giving a much more casual look with the top button undone. The man smiled when he made eye contact with Gabriel, crossing the room and extending his hand. 

"Hello Gabriel, I'm Nathanial Thoth."

              Gabriel stood and shook Thoth's hand.

"Hello sir. I'm not really sure why I'm here."

"Well, please sit" Thoth motioned to the chair as he sat down opposite Gabriel. "We are in my solarium because this is where I like to go to talk business."

              Gabriel grew puzzled. "No sir, I mean I don't know why I'm in your home."

"What do you think of it by the way?" Thoth asked, brushing off Gabriel's statement.

"It's really nice. It seems kind of old though."

"Oh it is." Gabriel could tell Thoth was excited he noticed. "I had the whole building moved here brick by brick. It was just sitting around unused, and I thought, why not make that my house?"

Gabriel didn't say anything, if only because he didn't know what to say. 

Thoth turned back to him, "Well, now as to why you're here. I believe you wanted to meet with Ma'at."

The use of the name so abruptly took Gabriel off guard. "So you do know Ma'at? Mr. Garret said he worked for him."

"Well of course he does, he works for me."

"Wait, so Ma'at works for you?"

Thoth laughed, "No, I mean Garret works for me. Would you like a drink?" Thoth said motioning to the bar.

"No thanks." Gabriel said as he shook his head. Thoth stood and walked to the bar, his right hand circling, indicating that Gabriel should continue. "But then how does Mr. Garret work for you and for Ma'at?"

              Thoth pulled down a glass from one of the shelves and set it on the shelf in front of him. He turned to face Gabriel. "Very easily, because I am Ma'at." Thoth bowed and rose back up, turning his attention back to the various liquids. 

"Wait, What?"

This time he didn't even turn to Gabriel as he said over his shoulder "I'm Ma'at."

Gabriel sat dumbfounded, trying to piece everything that was just said into sense.

"So you gave us the mission the other night?"

"That is correct." He reached up, grabbing a square bottle, pulling the top off to smell before placing it back. "I also own the farm, pay for your food, and keep you out of trouble." 

              As Gabriel sat there dumbstruck, Ma'at reached, pulling down a tall bottle, with only a third of its contents remaining. Again he removed the top, smelled its contents, but this time gave a response of “Perfect."

              Once he finished pouring, Ma’at turned back to Gabriel, the glass having a few ounces in it. “You’re sure you don’t want some? Don’t worry I won’t tell.” he said as he winked, lifting his drink to indicate the brown liquid inside. "No? Well then only me then." He returned to his chair, taking a small sip from his glass. 

“So what happened with that intel you gave us? We walked into an ambush.” Gabriel was on the edge of seat, already tired of the game Ma’at was playing.

              Ma’at lifted the scotch, taking a long sip, before returning the glass to his lap. “I know.

Sometimes you must give the enemy a piece to draw their attention away from your true goal.”  

"That’s bullshit! I lost four friends because you wanted to keep whatever the hell you're doing a secret?" Gabriel slammed his fist on the table, igniting when it hit. He looked up, his eyes focusing on the pistol sitting in Ma’at’s hand.

“Maybe you don’t understand. My power is not one of a physical manifestation, per say. I am able to bend the results of any outcome to my favor. In this moment, you lose, in all outcomes. I have chosen to trust you and use you to fulfill the ends that must be achieved. But understand that if you veer from the path that I direct you, I will destroy you without a second’s hesitation.”

              Gabriel stared at Ma’at, unsure of how he should move. In his current position, Ma’at could fire the pistol without even getting up from his chair. As Gabriel weighed the options, Ma’at broke the silence first, putting the pistol away with a simple “So, good talk.” 

              Gabriel looked down at his hands, the fire already gone. He was unsure whether it died from his choice, or the fear of Ma’at’s unpredictability. Gabriel leaned back in his chair, understanding he was clearly defeated. “So you are doing all this to control the world?”

“Not in the slightest,” Ma’at chuckled. “I don’t want to control the world! That would be far too boring. I am merely the vessel through which the world flows.”

“Then why waste your time with all of this moving pieces bullshit and come out and help us with the real fight?” Gabriel asked, crossing his arms. He felt like the kid at the grown up table the longer he talked with Ma’at. 

“Again you show the limits of your view.” Ma’at stood, walking behind the brown leather chair, placing his hands on the head rest. “Without this, as you so aptly put it, moving pieces bullshit, this would dissolve into absolute chaos. I am the only one keeping this ship of humanity, or whatever this is, afloat. You think religious wars of the past were bad? Genocide of fifty million against their own countrymen is nothing compared to what this could become. This is a war over species, and in the end, two humans will always agree that you are the problem. You can see in the past when countries united over a common enemy. Now they would unite to exterminate our kind.”

              Gabriel sat up straight in his chair “Then why don’t we hit them first. If they want to strike us from the Earth, then clearly they don’t possess the ability to live side by side with us.”

“And now we have come full circle, to the point where I shoulder the world, while others wanted to watch it burn.” Ma’at turned to look out through the solarium at the woods beyond. “You and your burning aggression. All you ever do is want to scorch, consume, and destroy. But it’s not your fault; it is of course your nature. But you” Ma’at turned, a fierce look on his face as he lifted his arms in question, his gaze moving upwards. “Is your existence limited to only what you experience each time? Did you learn nothing from before? We have tried that, and it failed!”

Gabriel looked around, unsure whether Ma’at was talking to him or everything or nothing at all. 

“Is this my punishment? Because I failed the first time I am forced to repeat this moment throughout time until you are satisfied with the outcome? Have I not done enough? I will continue, but I grow tired of this game.” Ma’at collapse into the chair, one hand covering his eyes. 

“You can go now.” Was all Ma’at said, moving one hand dismissively in the direction of the door. 

Gabriel stood, walking toward the freedom the door offered, still unsure of what just happened. 

“One more thing,” Ma’at called from his chair.

“Remember your life is being weighed. Please be mindful of that.”

THIRTY NINE

              The drive home was uneventful. After getting Brock from what he later learned was the gentlemen's lounge, Garret took them back to the farm. Brock didn't ask any questions about what happened, so Gabriel didn't offer anything up.  The entire drive home he just went over what Ma'at had said. 

Did you learn nothing from the last time
? 

              Gabriel knew he wasn’t talking to him, since that was the first time they met. Then what was he going on about? When they finally arrived back to the farm, Garret got out of the car with them, holding his hand out to Gabriel. 

"Mr. Thoth wanted you to have this. In case he needs to get a hold of you." Gabriel took the cell phone that rested in his palm. What could Ma'at want with giving him a cell phone? Without another word Garret got back into the black sedan and drove the entire dirt road in reverse before performing a j-turn and disappearing into the woods. 

                                                          ******

              It had been two days since they had been to Ma'at's house. Gabriel and Brock seemed to be living out the same pain, neither one saying anything. What Gabriel saw as even more troubling was that Brock hadn't been working out. Before that night, he was in the barn for three to four hours a day. Now he came out of his room, ate, and then went back. Gabriel didn't know what to say to him, so he didn't say anything. He spent his days in Caleb's room trying to find anything online of Aesir being detained and what happened to them, but his search turned up nothing. As he leaned back in the computer chair, he tilted his head back, his hands moving to his face, rubbing his eyes, trying to think of anything that he could do to find out what happened to them. 

              A rattling noise brought him back to the here and now. Sitting up in the chair he looked back at the computer, but it was idling on the web page he had left it. The glow of the cell that Garret had given him caught his attention. Picking up the phone he looked at the screen, which displayed a single message. 

Unknown Caller

              Might as well humor the idea, he thought, pressing the answer button. Placing the phone to his ear, Gabriel waited and listened, not saying anything in case this was just another of Ma'at's moving pieces. 

"Hello Gabriel, I'm glad you decided to answer. I have good news." The voice was Ma'at's, and that almost condescending tone was already getting old. He continued his silence. 

"So, while I do not know where your friends are, I do know someone who might be able to tell you where they are."

"Where?" Burst from his mouth before he even thought about it. 

"Well I'm so glad you decided to join the conversation. I was worried I was having one with your ass."

"Where can I get the intel?" This wasn't the time for his smart ass comments. 

"I'll send you a text with the address. From there, I will contact you, and we will see how we proceed." The phone went dead, Ma'at was clearly done talking. 

A second later the phone buzzed, showing the address where Gabriel could find out where they took Madison and the others.